HERITAGE
COMMUNI T Y PASSING THE TORCH
Around the grounds of Hacienda Zuleta, the local Andean community works across a range of initiatives to tell the story of their ancestors and celebrate century-old traditions
“Juyayay!” Echoes whip round the volcano- bound valley, bouncing from one mountain to another; it’s a good 20 seconds before they die away. We’re standing on a pyramid built by the Indigenous Caranqui people, ancestors of Amable Chachalo, who’s my guide for the day. Amable lowers his hands as he turns to me, then smiles. “This area is magical,” he says. We’re on the grounds of Hacienda Zuleta,
an estate that sprawls across 5,000 acres of pastureland and forest in Imbabura Province. The Caranquis lived here, high in the northern foothills of the Andes, from around 700-1500, when they were conquered by the Incas — who, in turn, were conquered by the Spanish just one generation later, in 1534. The story of Hacienda Zuleta would start
two centuries later as a Spanish ranch and textile mill. Since 1898, it has belonged to the Plaza-Lasso family, which has given Ecuador two presidents: Leónidas Plaza and his son, Galo Plaza Lasso. Through all this, descendants of the Caranquis have remained here; around 90% of the hacienda staff live in the surrounding communities. The homestead is still owned by Galo Plaza’s
children and grandchildren, who run it as a hotel. Yet, they retained its roots as a working farm: there’s an organic vegetable garden, a dairy farm with Holsteins cows and a cheese
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factory producing 14 varieties. Visitors can take part in activities including cycling, horse riding and cooking classes, plus bonfire parties with Andean dancers. But today, we’re visiting Hacienda Zuleta’s
Condor Huasi, which works to increase the number of Andean condors in the region. We clamber down from the pyramid and walk further along the valley to meet Yann Potaufeu, the main biologist on the project, at the aviary. When we arrive, he’s waiting for an egg to hatch. Hardly an easy task: not only are condors monogamous, but they’re also notoriously picky. Even when a match is made, each couple lays just one egg at a time; it took 11 years for the first one to hatch at Condor Huasi. “As you can see from my face, I’m pretty tired,” Yann says. And once the birds are outside, it’s no
easier. Besides having their habitat cleared for farmland, condors are subject to multiple misconceptions, such as the notion that they carry off sheep and children. In Ecuador, there are now only about 150 left in the wild. “Within three years, we lost 15 condors to poisoning and six to hunting,” says Yann. “Before we can let them out, we have to fix what’s happening.” Yann hopes to do this by educating local communities. “We have to fight these stories, but it takes decades.”
Clockwise from top: The countryside around Hacienda Zuleta; Zuleteño horses, a local mix of Andalusian, English and quarter breeds; biologist Yann Potaufeu at Condor Huasi
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